It’s hard to make being Rihanna’s rich, handsome boyfriend sound lame, but Drake managed to do just that on “Family Matters.” Taking a moment to turn his focus from Kendrick Lamar to ASAP Rocky, the Toronto rapper accused the Harlem native of being relevant for his fashion sense instead of his mic skills: “Probably gotta have a kid again ‘fore you think of droppin’ any shit again / Even when you do drop, they gon’ say you should’ve modeled ’cause it’s mid again.”
It’s reductive, but fair. It’s been nearly eight years since Rocky dropped his middling last album “Testing,” and between a series of false starts, epic fit pics and parenting, there’s a generation of people who probably know him best as Rihanna’s stylish beau instead of a rap superstar. Released today, his fifth album, “Don’t Be Dumb,” is his chance to prove that Drake, and the Internet were… well, being dumb. Buoyed by propulsive charisma that nearly matches his grand aesthetic ambitions, Rocky’s latest does the job as an album that should put the memory of “Testing” to rest.
At about an hour, the LP is largely as stylish as it is seamless, with Rocky shifting between dystopian Memphis street rap (“Stole Ya Flow”), punk rock (the aptly named “Punk Rocky”) and some lounge jazz (“Robbery”) with conviction and finesse. It’s all threaded by deft tonal control, acrobatic flow structures and a personality that can be forceful or disarmingly smooth.
